Studying Urban Governance

Gentlemen, there isn’t a body without cells. The state does not exist without municipalities. Living matter does not exist without organic life. Thus, we cannot conceive a nation without a state, without municipal life.

—Ruy Barbosa1

This book recounts the origins, evolution, and outcomes of one of the most singular urban development experiments ever put in place in the developing world. The planning process in the city of Curitiba, Brazil, was so innovative (and to some extent still is) that scholars and policymakers to this day do not agree on its significance.